Venetian blind



May 22, 1951 s. w. PANGBORN VENETIAN BLIND Filed Aug. 31, 1948 Patented May 22, 1951 VENETIAN BLIND Stanley W. Pangborn, Glen Echo Heights, Md., assignor to Pangborn Manufacturing 00., Alexandria, Va., a partnership Application August 31, 1948, Serial No. 47,125

This invention relates to Venetian blinds, having for its general object the provision of a Venetian blind particularly designed for vehicles, such as trailers or boats.

A problem attending the use of Venetian blinds in vehicles is created by the flapping back and forth of the lower end of the blind when extended, due to vibrations of the vehicle in motion, causing objectionable rattle. This has been to an extent solved by prior art expedients such as having the ends of thebottom bar slide in a guide, but the bottom bar must be a loose fit in the guide, to avoid binding, and according to the degree of looseness the objectionable noisiness still persists.

The concept of the present invention envisions the use of hooks at the lower end of the window, beneath which the ends of the bottom bar are latched, but a Venetian blind is of definite length when extended, the louvers includin the top and bottom bars, being tethered by the ladder webbing, so that if the webbing is long enough to permit the bottom webbing to extend beneath the hooks it is too long to hold said bar tight in the bights of the hooks, so that a loose engagement of the bar with the hooks results, with consequent capacity to rattle, and the possibility that the bottom bar will escape from the hooks. The concept of the invention, therefore, contemplates holding the bottom bar in tensioned relation against the hooks, thereby eliminating all lost motion, it being an object of the invention to combine a Venetian blind engageable by hooks at its lower limit of extension with a spring roller of the Hartshorn type carrying cords which engage the bottom bar to pull it against the hooks under the tension of the roller spring.

By Hartshorn type is meant a hollow roller having an inclosed spring on a rod which projects from the end of the roller, with means at the end of the roller for fixing it relative to a supporting bracket whereby the spring may react against said rod and turn the roller, the projectin end of the rod having indentations engaged by a pawl on the end of the roller for inhibiting relative movement between said rod and roller, said pawl being tripped by pulling the blind in an unwinding direction and being held released by centrifugal force.

Since the blind is fully extended when engaged by the hooks and therefore cannot be pulled down any further to trip the pawls of the spring roller to cause the blind to be raised, it is an object of the invention to have the roller cords operable-independently of the bottom bar,

3 Claims. ('01. 160- 17 whereby they may be pulled down sufficiently farther than said bottom bar to trip the pawls and cause the blind to be raised.

Other objects of the invention will appear as the following description of a preferred and practical embodiment thereof proceeds.

In the drawing which accompanies the specification and throughout the figures of which the same reference characters have been used to denote identical parts:

Figure l is a front elevation of a Venetian blind embodying the principles of the invention;

Figure 2 is a view in section, taken along the line 2--2 of Figure 1, the intermediate portion being omitted;

Figure 3 is a fragmentary end view showing one of the hooks and the adjacent portions of the blind;

Figure 4 is a detail in perspective, showing the means for adjustably tilting the louvers;

Figure 5 is an end view of the spring roller showing the pawls.

Referring now in detail to the invention, the

.numeral I represents a Venetian blind consisting of the top and bottom bars 2 and 3, and the intermediate louvers 4, all tethered by the ladder tapes 5, in conventional manner so that when the top bar is tilted the bottom bar and intermediate louvers are correspondingly tilted.

The numerals 6 and 1 refer to brackets secured to opposite jambs of the window frame, providing bearings for the spring roller l8, one bearing being nonround for nonrotatably holding the correspondingly shaped end of the roller that winds the spring, not shown, enclosed inthe roller. A cornice board 9 is retained by the brackets 6 and l in front of the roller to conceal it. In Figure 1 the cornice board 9 is shown in removed relation to the brackets, revealing the roller. The brackets have depending lugs l0 and l I, in which pins I2 at the ends of the top bar 2 are journaled. Downwardly facing hooks l3 are secured to the opposite jambs at the bottom of the window in position to be engaged by the pins M which project from the ends of the bottom bar 3. The tapes 5 when fully extended just permit the pins to be slipped beneath the hooks [3. When the pins rise into the bights l5 of said hooks, (see Figure 3), the tapes acquire some fullness, represented at I6 in Figures 2 and 3, which makes for looseness of the pins within the bights IS.

The tensioning means comprises the spring roller 8, to which the cords H are secured, and upon which they are windable. These cords pass through transverse slots l8 in the top and botassayed tom bars and intermediate louvers, and terminate below the bottom bar in acorns 19, which cannot pass through the slots N3 of the bottom bar but press against said bar under the spring bias of the roller 8, holding the pins 14 with resilient pressure in the tops of the bights i5, preventing any free movement of the bottom bar with respect to the hooks.

When the blind is to be drawn down, the bottom bar is grasped and pulled down to the limit of the extent permitted by the tapes 5, then pushed under the hooks until the pins 14 are within the bights l5. Then the bottom bar is let go and the acorns pulled down a sufficient distance to trip the pawls 20 of the roller, mitting the spring to apply pressure to the under side of the bottom bar, transmitted. through the cords and acorns. One could not trip the pawls simply by pulling down on the bottom bar, for the tapes prevent it being moved down for any appreciable distance.

When it is desired to raise the blind, the bottom bar may be grasped and pulled down to release it from the hooks. Then the acorns are manipulated to trip the pawls 25, after which the roller functions in well-known manner to raise the blind, which can be adjusted to any desired extent of opening.

I order to provide a tilting adjustment of the louvers, the lug H of the bracket I in which the top bar 2 is journaled, has a circumferential series of pressed-in recesses 20, concentric with the axis of tilt of the top bar, and the adjacent end of the top bar has a fitting 2| secured thereto, carryin a pressed-out projection 22 at the same radial distance from the axis of tilt of the top bar as the series of recesses 20. The end of the fitting 2| works against the lug ll, so that the projection 22 enters any of the recesses 20 with which it may become radially aligned, acting as I a detent to retain the top bar in tilted position. The fitting 2! has a handle 23 extending beyond the side of the blind for tilting the louvers.

. While I have in the above description disclosed what I believe to be a, preferred and practical embodiment of the invention, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the specific detailsof construction and arrangement of parts, as shown, are byway of example and not to be construed as limiting the scope of the invention.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. In combination, a Venetian blind havin a bottom bar, downwardly facin hooks positioned to receive and retain the ends of said bottom bar when the blind is fully extended, and a spring roller of the type in which a pawl at the end which normally holds the roller fixed against rotation is released to cause spring winding of the roller, by pulling the blind to rotate the roller in an unwinding direction, said roller having cords windable thereupon which pass through holes in said bottom bar to its under side, and stops on said cords engageable with said bottom bar for resiliently pressing it against said hooks.

2. In combination, a Venetian blind having a bottom bar including pins projecting from its ends, downwardly facing hooks fixedly positioned at the level of said bottom bar when the blind is fully extended having upwardly indented bi'ghts in their under faces to receive and retain said pins, and a spring roller of the type in which a pawl at the end which normally holds the roller fixed against rotation is released to cause spring winding of the roller, by pullin the blind to rotate the roller in an unwinding direction, said roller having cords windable thereupon which pass freely through holes in the louvers of said blind including said bottom bar, and stops on said cords engageable with the under face of said bottom bar for resiliently pressing said pins against said hooks within said bights under the resilient bias of said spring roller, said cords being operable independently of said blind and being extensible an appreciable distance below said bottom bar when the blind is fully extended.

3. Combination as claimed in claim 2, including means for adjustably tilting the louvers of said blind comprising a fixed lug adjacent one end of the top bar of said blind in which said end is journaled, and detent means between said lug and end comprising a series or recesses on the one and a complementary projection on the other, at equal radial distances from the axis of tilt of said top bar, said projection being adapted to selectively enter one of said recesses, and a handle at the end of said top bar for tilting it.

STANLEY W. PANGBORN.

REFERENCES CITED,

The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,845,870 Fowler et al Feb. 16, 1932 1,949,653 Moore Mar. 6, 1934 1,951,659 Kesner Mar. 20, 1934 2,152,068 Lawson Mar. 28, 1939 2,298,892 Lorentzen Oct. 13, 1942 

